Wichita eagle., 1887-04-17

this unavailing valor, Great Brit
ain evicted the native Nhab-
itants of the land and divided tho soil
among a licentious and brutal s0ldtry,
and still greater portion of it was given
to the harlOts and the bastards of the Will
liams and the Hanoverian kings, and ly
such a base and brutal and degrading ten
ure the greater portion of that soil is held
by three thousand absentee non resident
English landlords today (Applause
Seven hundred and twenty nine or thirty
men, resident in London or Paris. own
one-half of the entire soil of Ireland.
There are but three per cent. of native
holdings in that island today, and of all
those twenty or thirty million acres OF
arabic land which constitute the soil of
that region not covered by bogs and
morasses, there are less than twenty
thousand proprietors; the peasants under
that degrading tenure are compelled To
pay for their scanty earnings sixty-ti
million dollars annually as rent to the
seven hundred and twenty-nine descend
ants aforesaid, (Applause,) who squander
in profligacy and dissolute pleasure in the
slums and perlieus of foreign capitals.
money that belong to those half starved
peasants.
understand that this question of home
rule aod local self government on the part
of the Irish simply means that this land
that was taken from them by force and
fraud, by violence, to pay the tardy wages
of dishOnor shall be restored to the men
who cultivate and who ought to own it..
In other words, it shall be fixed tenure and
free lands-and fair rent and nothing
more and am here tonight as citizen Of
Kansas for the purpose OF bidding God
speed to the men that are here, press
ing this new gospel Of peace upon the at
tention of the Tories of Great Britain.
have heard, sir, in various quarters; | have
seen it announced in many rather conse-
auential papers that this was matter that
concerned the British people alone and that
| it was violation of international comfy
for Americans to gather in assemblages
| like this and for Americans holding official
positions to express themselves upon the
great question. l know of no reason, Mr
President, that any Ameaican has for be,
| ing discreet in his criticism about Great
Britain. [Applause. lam descendant
of England myself There is not drop of
blood that flows in my veins-and there is
| not too much anyway-but there is not a
drop of blood that flows in my veins that
doesn't flow from an English origin. but it
GENES from the Englishmen that three cen
turics ago fed from the same tyranny and
oppression that Great Britain is trying to
visit upon Ireland today. [Appiause.
am not here with the intention or for
the purpose of violating International COM
| ity Laughter and applause]. l hesitate
to believe that l do SO by expressing the
convictions that hold in common, | be-
lieve, with SO 100ths of the American peo-
pie on this subject. Applausel.
l am not to be moved, sir, 10y the con-
temptuous and contumelious sneer about
twisting the caudal appendage of the Brit
ish lion. Great applause. There are
Americans yet living who saw the British
army sack and plunder and burn defense
less capitol There are those who saw the
capitol of this country in flames from the
war, in violation of every prime pc of
international comfy atLer the last
armed foe had retired, and who saw
the seat of the speaker Of the house Of rep
resentatives and fill the chairs before him
with his minions, declaring that they were
lIlp REPRESENTATIVES, Vi tuC -ucSliONSu anu
ruined states, and amid cheers and uproar
and din and clamor declare the perpetual
dissolution and destruction of the Amer-
can union! | do not think that America
need speak with bated breath and deny the
brotherhood toward Ireland, or towards
any of the people that for centuries she
has oppressed and destroyed. Not sin
gle one Of the public buildings in the city
of Washington, even to the white house or
executive mansion, occupied by the presi-
dent, was spared in that sack and
destruction that occurred within
the memory Of living men.
Who has forgotten. sir. either
the conduct of Great Britain toward this
country during the terrible ordeal of our
civil strife (applause), aud do not speak,
sir Of the great middle class of English
men, $50, 900 of whom gathered last night
| in Hyde Park to protest against the aIoci
ties contemplated by Salisbury and his
Tory associates in the British parliament.
| remember with pleasure, also, that in
the great contest that has been had
upon this question, when this subject was
presented to the British people for their
decision, that in the great monumental
struggle that occurred on the question of
home rule for Ireland, out of a poll of
more than three millions the proposition
was lost by majority OF only little
over 100, 900. (Applause) No, sir, it is not
of them that speak, but it is of that Tory
class of legislators who have been
In all ages the unyieldidg foes of
home rule. In that struggle waged on this
continent, for the purpose of securing the
new birth or regeneration of liberty upon
this soil, everything that could be done by
way Of governmental intervention short of
the open declaration of war was resorted to
by the British governing classes for the
purpose Of destroying this country
and rendering free government upon this
earth failure They c7queted with the
South and deluded them with q specious
and fallscious covert of recognition And
they violated every principle Of interns
tional law against the North and when
fearing the precedent that might be estab-
lished against them in the next war that
they might wage, unless their example
were made the subject Of reprobation they
yielded TO the demand for the treaty of
Washington. and reluctantly paid us $l5,-
500 900 by way of reparation, and then
they stole $500, 600 back again under the
award Of Halifax (applsuse) and that SIS
500, 900 that complaissnt umpire from
Belgium, selected at the demand OF the
British minister, agreed that was the price
we were to pay for the privilege Of Cana
dian fisheries, as everybody knows was
awarded upon forged statement of the
amount and we did no. ge: 50 much as the
value of cent piece. (Applsuse.) And
that sum so obtained by way of recoupe-
ment against the award of Geneva, Great
Britain turned over to Canada who placed
it in her treasury where il is held as fund